Foxhole Confessions
by AllyFoxRoe
Summary: After Julian's death in Bastogne, you go to find Babe and end up making confessions you wouldn't even tell the preacher. Babe Heffron x Reader.


I do not own Edward "Babe" Heffron, nor any other member of Easy Company. I mean no disrespect with this story.

"Another damn patrol…" You sighed as you checked your practically empty medic pack, you really needed to go into Bastogne for supplies.

"Can't even see a thing in this shit" Babe motioned to the thick fog that still cloaked Bastogne. You stood around waiting for Lieutenant Peacock with the men, George was getting assistance hefting his massive radio onto his back and muttering about how Peacock couldn't find a snowball in a blizzard. Bill added in how Peacock's head was so far up his ass the lump in his throat was his nose. Babe and I listened in and laughed to ourselves. Peacock was an okay guy, he could get frazzled but this was war and even though it's not preferable we all get scared, we'd be liars if we said we weren't. You watched Julien, this eighteen year old kid who shared a foxhole with Babe. He asked Johnny Martin if he could lead the patrol, Martin pretty much just rolled his eyes and told Julien to get to the end up the line much to Julien's dismay. The kid was sweet but you knew he was in over his head.

Doc Roe jogged past and up to Martin, you turn your attention back to George's grumbling, laughing and joining in the conversation.

"(L/N)!" Martin called waving you over. You nodded to the men and ran over.

"What's up Sarge? Hey Doc!" You smiled softly at both of them, you made a conscious effort to try and smile at the men to cheer them up, this place was hell and as a field medic it was your job to take care of them.

"You and Doc are staying here." Martin explained.

"Martin, what if somethi.." You tried to disagree, with Martin that's practically impossible though.

"It's just a routine patrol, we don't need you right now okay." He said. You look at Doc, he nodded though he looked concerned too but I nodded back at Martin,

"Okay, keep yourselves out of trouble." He headed off and back to the group of men, now joined by Peacock. They called for them to move out and your friends began to walk past and disappear into the fog.

"(N/N), aren't you coming with us?" Bill called as he walked past.

"Martin told me to stay back so you got to watch your own asses, sorry boys." I replied. "Be safe okay!" Luz, and Guarnere smiled and agreed. They knew you were worried, you hated getting left behind where you couldn't take care of the men, especially since you had grown so close to everyone, it was hard. Your smile faded as you and Doc stood close, shaking in the freezing cold, watching your friends disappear into the forest.

You and Doc could hardly sit still, you crouched against a tree. Doc was never big for words, the quiet Cajun stared into the mist as you hummed "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" as you rummaged once again through your medic bag, this had to be the tenth time today. It had been a long time since you heard that song played, probably not for at least a year and a half, not since Toccoa. As a woman, you were never supposed to be here but with persistence and an outstanding review as a trauma nurse, Coronel Sink decided to do an experiment. You had trained with the men and become extremely close, you were all basically family. You had met Babe shortly after we returned from Normandy after the assault on D-day, back when he was a replacement. Bill Guarnere had introduced you to his new found Philly brother, you smiled at him and he almost looked surprised you were used to it by now. Once he regained his train of thought he jumped up and shook your hand and offered you a chair, which you took greatfully. It had been two years since you had worn high heels and your feet were killing you, you sat down and much to everyone's surprise you kicked off your shoes. Bill, having known you for years laughed and sat down to start a story. Over the next hour you caught yourself glancing at Babe and blushed when you noticed he was glancing back. Bill continued to embarrass Babe in front of the other replacements about his first jump his history with the name Doris. Babe's ears had almost got as red as his hair and you laughed softly. Then your favorite song came on, soldiers grabbed nurses and lead them to the dance floor. You sat at the table, tracing the patterns on the table cloth as Bill cleared his throat loudly. Babe nudged my arm softly, you looked up,

"Want to dance?" He seemed a little nervous which didn't seem to be normal for his personality, but you didn't care.

"Sure!" You stood up, leaving your heels abandoned on the rug as you took his hand and walking to the wooden dance floor, you didn't even notice Bill smiling as he watched you and Babe walk off.

You moved to the middle and he cautiously placed his hand in yours and the other at the small of your back. You smiled softly at him and he scoffed looking at his feet. You began to sway across the floor and as the music lulled on, you found yourself leaning against his chest, his heart beat along with the music.

"This is my favorite song!" You sighed happily, smiling. You figured he heard you because he began humming, making the sound reverberate in his chest. You looked up at him only to find him smiling down at you, you found yourself smiling and laughing with him and it wasn't the same reaction you had when you danced with Bill or George or Toye.

You and Babe talked all night, he told you he was originally supposed to jump into Normandy with original Easy but he was just a little to late. You told him about how you fought for a position in the military and became a field medic. From that moment on, you and Babe were joined at the hip.

You were pulled back to the moment as bullet shots rang out and yelling emerged from the fog. You looked at Doc, his face was stone. You looked back to the fog, gripped your bag hard, and prepared to run. Suddenly a single form broke through, it was Lieutenant Peacock and you and Roe ran to him, asking what was going on.

"We hit there line, I've got to get to the CP." And he continued on. I looked at Roe in shock, we were wondering the same thing, did he leave them there? I was furious but it washed out of my mind as the men's voices grew closer, screaming where the hell were they or where were they going, I began to jog toward the fog. Bullets screamed past as they broke through, I wanted to rush forward to help them but rushing into the flash of gunfire wasn't being the most helpful to anyone. One of the men went down, shot in the back, he screamed out and you and Roe took off. We slide in next to him rummaging in our bags for salt and bandages, it was far to natural. The blood was pooling in the snow, you put pressure on the wound. George slide in too, talking quickly on his radio demanding a jeep to get this guy out of here. You look at George, your face stern but your eyes screaming questions. He looked back at you quickly,

"Only one." He said quickly, leaving you breathless but still filling you with relief.

Someone else began screaming. You looked to Roe and yelled over the gunfire,

"You got this?"

"Go!" He called back.

You nodded and turned away, keeping low, running through the snow. Your heart beat fast in your throat. Martin called to you as you ran past, but you ignored him and continued on to the tree were the yelling originated. You slammed against the tree and next to the body that was there, it was Babe. He jumped in shock at you flying in next to him.

"(F/N)! What the fuck are you doing?" He yelled looking rapidly from you to the fog before him.

"Are you hit?" You yelled back, adjusting your helmet so you could see. Your (H/C) hair was falling out from under the metal and in front of your eyes. You furiously brushed them away with wide eyes that never left his face.

"ARE. YOU. HIT?" You yelled again grabbing at his coat.

"I'm fine! Julian got hit though, out there!" He yelled, his eyes full of terror.

"We have to go back for him, he's still alive!" Babe yelled back to Martin.

"We don't know that!" Martin replied. "We gotta fall back!"

You and Babe flinched, covering your heads as a pepper of gunfire hit the branches above you, letting the wooden rain hit your helmets. You were done, time to take responsibility. You grabbed Babe's collar and pulled him up with you.

"Come on we're moving!" You yell. He fought against you, yelling about Julian and how he wasn't dead. "If we stay out here we will be Heffron, now move!" And we ran.

You all sat around a small fire, Muck and Malarky laughed about the food we were given. It looked like someone had just hammered a piece of old bread flat and coated it in grease. I stared at my food, lost in thought. Feeling eyes on you, you looked up. Catching Babe's glance just before he looked away, coughing into his coat harshly. He hadn't spoken since this morning and I was worried, I knew he wouldn't speak to me though since I was the one who dragged him away.

He was furious when we got to safety; he shook your hold off his coat and walked away. Leaving you standing in the cold alone as the men milled back to their foxholes murmuring to each other.

You walked past the CP on the way back to your hole, only to pass Peacock.

"(L/N)." He said with a smile.

"Sir." You replied. You felt the cold of Bastogne infiltrate your words. He stopped and turned back to you.

"Is something the matter (L/N)?" He asked, standing straight and looking confused.

"Actually sir, something is the matter." You tried to speak as calmly as possible. "You left your platoon in the middle of a fire fight. Now I know it isn't my pla- "

"You're right (L/N)." He moved stepped closer, the snow crunching under his boots. "This isn't your place. You are a medic, not a battle strategist. I suggest you keep to your own field. You have no right here."

"As a medic, Sir, I am. When the safety of my company is in jeopardy and I have to shove their organs back in their bodies because of a commanding officer leaving them in the middle of a shoot- out, I am in my place, and I have the only right. Sir." I said, face stern. His eyes were wide, and the cogs in his head were turning, processing what I had just said. I knew I was out of line but it needed to be said, I waited for my reprimand.

"That will be all (L/N)." He said, turning on his heel and walking off into the snowfall.

"Sir." I replied, I noticed I was holding my breath and released it in a huff, my body shaking. What was I doing? _I could have been kicked out of the paratroops, why did I do that?_ _Being a woman in the military already put you on ropes. God you were so stupid._

You walked through the cold, there was only one person you wanted to see right now. Still shaking as you approached the tarp covering his foxhole, you went over what you wanted to say. You needed to see him, you needed to apologize, to just talk to him.

"Babe?" You whispered as you pulled up the tarp, but the hole was empty except for his satchel. Where was he? You worried about him as you stumbled across the white cloaked ground. Doc stumbled by apologizing to Guarnere who seemed to have an infection.

"Doc? You seen Babe?" You asked, pulling your collar up to shield yourself from the freezing wind that tore at the skin of your face.

"Nah, I've been looking for him. He's not in his hole." His Cajun drawl etched out.

"Okay, yeah I have been too. I'm worried about him." You sighed.

"Yeah." Gene sighed. He was never much for words. So you carried on to your foxhole to get out of the wind. Maybe you could try and make a cup of coffee with the lighter Luz gave you and your helmet. At least it would be hot. You slide into your hole and fell right into someone's lap.

"What the hell!" You yelped in surprise, turning to see who I was sitting on, only to see a familiar face, "Babe!?"

"Hey." He was quiet, he stared at his boots. His arms were crossed against his chest tightly trying to hold in the heat, he was shaking.

"Babe, what are you doing in here?" You asked, shifting off of him and ripping your helmet off. Did your face show all the worry you hade for this man?

"I just… I.." His shaking stuttered his words but it was not out of cold, his face was etched with pain and sadness. He looked up at me, his eyes damp.

"Oh Babe.." You whispered sighing and sliding next to him, leaning into his chest. You could tell he was crying, his heaving lungs against your ear. You wound your thin arms around his neck and he nestled his head in against your shoulder, his arms pulling you tight against him.

"It's not your fault." You whispered, stroking his back.

"It is! I promised I would look out for him! I promised I'd go back for him! He died alone in the fucking forest!" He yelled, muffled by the material of the jacket you wore. Hushing him, you attempted to soothe his pain. You wondered how good of a medic you were if you couldn't even help Babe.

"Now you stop that." You said calmly, pulling away to look at his face. His eyes were red, you had never seen him hurt so much, and it killed. You let go from around his neck and held his face,

"If you had gone back you would have died. You did everything you could Babe. If you died, I couldn't take it." You whispered. He looked directly into your eyes and leaned forward. His lips crashed against your own, feverent but soft. In the cold of Bastogne you two had finally found warmth, why had you not figured this out sooner. His hands groped at your sides, pulling at the jacket. You gasped as his cold hand touched skin and he slyly took the opportunity to slide his tongue into your mouth. Both of you battled for dominance, your tongues twirling. You bit at his lip, taking control and pulling him closer against your chest. He left your lips and made his way down the cold skin of your thin neck, sucking and biting all the way down to your collarbone and then making his way back to your cold lips, you sighed contently into his mouth. His lips enveloped you again and running your fingers up into his red hair, you knocked his helmet off. His hands worked their way up and into your (H/C) locks as well, pulling at the tangles that have resided there for months. You pushed myself up onto your knees to get even closer and dragged your hands down his chest to his buttons. Suddenly, you were flipped onto your back, and as you hit the edge of the hole, Babe broke the kiss and looked into your (E/C) orbs. His eyes were dilated in the darkness of the fox hole and your combined panting breaths filled the air around you as distant artillery echoed in the night.

"I love you." You whispered, resting your hands on his cheeks gently. "I know it shouldn't be like this and I know it's wrong but- "He cut you off with a tender kiss and in his soothing Philly accent he whispered,

"You talk too much."

You kissed him back softly only to have him break a moment later and moved away to sit beside me in the cramped foxhole. He dragged a hand across his face, and you sat there, staring at your feet.

And there was silence.

"I love you too." He whispered and you looked at him, "Ever since the first time I saw you in that bar after D – Day. The first time we danced I knew it. I knew I loved you and I wanted you." You watched him as he took your small hand into his, his were laden with dirt and yours with dried blood that would never wash out. "But I couldn't even protect Julian, how am I supposed to protect you. I can't lose you." He said, shaking again.

"Listen to me." You sat on my knees so you could face him at eye level, "You won't."

"How do you know that?" He whispered, his big eyes staring into yours.

"Because we're both stubborn and nothing will ever change that." You giggled trying to relax him. He laughed for a moment and then once more the light in his eyes went dull as he turned away. "Look at me Edward." you whispered softly, his head snapping back up at his real name. "I don't know if we're going to make it out of this war, I don't know how much time we have left, or how long until our clocks strike zero." Resting a hand on his cheek you rubbed off a smudge of dirt, and your other hand wrapped gently around his fingers. "What I do now is what we have now, and I am happy, for the first time in a long time, and it's because of you." You whispered softly, his free hand now brushed fallen strand of (H/C) hair out of your face.

"Then let's not waste a moment." He sighed, pulling you in for a soft kiss.


End file.
